An adaptive approach to dependable circuits for a digital power control

Abstract

Recently, a microcomputer and a FPGA are apt to be used for control of the power conversion circuits because of their capability to simplify the parameter resetting and also their flexibility on the basis of programming by software. On the other hand, the control circuits are getting extremely close to the high current main circuit. Thus the electro-magnetic radiation generated nearby the high current pulse may affect the control circuit as transient faults. In this study, we focus on transient noise caused by switching activities of a DC-DC converter and propose a dependable digital power control circuit by FPGA. The basic idea is to keep the sampling times as far away from the switching times as possible to avoid the effects of transient noise. A control circuit, with the proposed method applied, is designed and its effectiveness is shown by simulations.